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First, a quick review on the structure of English- the awful thing is,
most people cannot identify the structure of their own language.
English is set up like this- modifier, subject, verb, object. Don't ask
me what that means. But basically, ASL is set up just about opposite of
that.ASL is a very flexible language, but mostly it centers around the concept of what a person is going to say. You first set up what you want to say (the broad view) and work your way down to the details (the narrow view). Have I lost you yet? Okay, what I'm talking about is like this: Makes absolutely no sense in writing, right? But put that in action and it gets the point across faster and better than English. Yeah, it's weird. But if you look, you'll see that it first set up a broad view (when it was done) and went to a narrow view (how good it was). You want a better example? There it is again- first the set up of when and who, then the smaller details of why and again who. In ASL, the who is repeated at least once most of the time. The reason why is just in case the listener (receiver) missed who they were talking about. In many informal situations, people get lazy and the repeat is left off unless it's necessary. It's the same way in English when someone uses slang or omits unnecessary words (i.e. contractions: I'm for I am, etc.). Another thing to remember in ASL is the fact that it's a spatial language. In that, I mean that ASL makes use of its space. There is a certain body area which is reserved for ASL, and while conversing, a person attempts not to step out of that area unless they need to point to a certain toe, for example. The area I'm talking about is in the shape of a rectangle, the length starting at about the torso (belly button) and ending just above the top of the head, and the width is from shoulder to shoulder. The depth is usually not more than elbow length, but can be extended to full arm's length if needed. In this spatial area, pictures and gestures create part of the language. For example: a person wants to show about how large and what type of shape a box is. First, that person would make the sign for box, and in that sign, would use the spatial area to show the size, then would point out any specific differences this box has from any other box (i.e. if it has writing on it, or a large dent, etc.).  Email: Copy and paste the address into your email address line, and please include the title ASLWEB in your subject line. If you do not, your e-mail may be automatically deleted! Thank you! Disclaimer: Much of what is on these pages has been fully researched and is true to the best of my knowledge. If you find an error, do not hesitate to email me and I will attempt to set it straight. Website created by Carrie De Ruyter, Sept 1999. Updated March 2005. |
